


Thankful for You

by Theconsultingdetective



Category: Supernatural
Genre: F/F, F/M, Harry Potter!AU, Hogwarts, M/M, Orphans, Quidditch, Thanksgiving
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-10
Updated: 2014-12-10
Packaged: 2018-02-28 21:05:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,398
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2747051
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Theconsultingdetective/pseuds/Theconsultingdetective
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Charlie, a young witch at Hogwarts, is invited to her friend (and crush) Jo Harvelle's Thanksgiving, she knows it's only a matter of time before she spills her secret to her long time companion. Bringing along her confidant Cas for backup, she embarks on a trip to Lawrence with very little confidence and a whole lot of nerves.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Thankful for You

**Author's Note:**

> For rambleondeanna, as per her prompt: "College AU where Jo brings her best friend Charlie home for the holidays (whom she may or may not have a massive crush on) where Charlie gets introduced to the Roadhouse gang and gets adopted into the family in some way as Charlie and Jo simulatenously navigate their feelings for each other." (With a dash of Hogwarts!au. Hope everyone enjoys!)

"Charlie,

Everything is ready for Thanksgiving. My parents can't wait to meet you. Send me an owl and tell me when you're planning on coming down so I can pick you up. I'll meet you at Platform 9 3/4.

See you then,  
Jo"

          The letter arrived by Jo's owl, Desdemona, late on the night of November 20th. Charlie was up, of course, practicing for her Advanced Potions exam and causing a lot of little unintentional puffs of smoke (and more than a few accidental fires) courtesy of a mix of bad note taking and stress. Once she noticed the owl, where it stood on it's perch outside of her Gryffindoor dormitory, she let it in almost immediately, recognising it as Jo's the moment she laid eyes on it. The other girl was studying abroad for a few weeks at the Academy of Broom Flying, Quidditch star that she was, but she and Charlie had been corresponding via owl for all of that time. She was getting off a few days earlier

          The moment Charlie finished the letter, she tacked it up on her bulletin board and rang up Cas, her longtime best friend and cofounder of the Hogwarts GSA. She would've walked right over to the Ravenclaw dorms, but she didn't feel like answering that riddle, and anyways, it was frigid outside and she was in no mood at the time. She put the phone on speaker and put a kettle on, sighing as she set out a mug and a bag of chai spice tea, the phone broadcasting it's dial tone in the quiet room.

          "Hello, this is Castiel Novak," a voice sleepily after a good while, clearly woken up. "Who is-"

  
"Cas," Charlie interrupted, pacing around her room, the hum of her stove in the back ground. "It's me. Charlie. Look, I have to talk to you."

  
"Okay..." Cas said slowly, "go on..."

 

"So, I just got an owl from Jo," she said, plunging right in with little pretext. "And you know how she invited me to Thanksgiving with her family?" Cas nodded.

  
"Mhm..."

 

"And turns out it's actually a thing."

  
"...yes, I assumed," he nodded. "You are surprised by this?" Charlie shrugged.

  
"Sorta, I guess. I mean, I dunno, I didn't think it was actually gonna happen..."

  
"Why not?" Cas asked, innocently bewildered.

  
"Because, you know...I mean, we were just sort of vaguely considering it, you know? But here we are now, and it's, like, a thing..." Cas paused.

  
"And this is a problem?"

  
"Definitely," Charlie agreed fervently.

  
"Well, you get along with her, don't you?" Charlie nodded.

  
"Yeah, we get along great. That's kinda the problem."

"...How is that the problem?" Cas asked, innocent. Charlie paused, then explained haltingly, "...I mean, you know...I really like her, Cas. Like, like her like her." There was a long moment of quiet, then, "Oh."

 

"Yeah, 'oh'."

  
"And your plan is to not attend Thanksgiving because you have feelings for this girl?" Charlie sighed.

  
"I guess..." she agreed.

  
"Why is that?" Cas asked patiently, the meowing of his cat Garrison audible from his end of the call.

  
"Well, it dunno, what if she's straight?" Cas shrugged.

  
"Then you'll have a nice Thanksgiving with a close friend." Charlie huffed another sigh.

  
"But if I go alone, it's weird..."

  
"They invited you alone, why would it be weird?" Cas asked patiently, huffing and sitting down in his armchair.

  
"I don't know, I mean...can you come, too?" Charlie asked, hoping Cas could read her puppy dog eyes over the phone. "I'd feel loads better. C'mon. You can be the Samwise to my Frodo." Cas scoffed.

  
"I consider myself more of a Gandalf type."

  
"We'll call you Legolas and meet in the middle," Charlie said. "Now, come on. Please? Jo's family will love you. I'll bet she has hot friends. Please?" Cas sighed again.

  
"I suppose I don't have anywhere else to be...yes, alright. Just tell me when and where and I'll be there." Charlie sighed, relieved.

  
"You're a saint, Cas. I'll send you an owl with the specifics, okay?" Cas nodded.

  
"Yes, alright," he agreed. "I'll talk to you soon. Try not to worry."

  
"No promises," she said. "But thanks."

  
"Think nothing of it," Cas dismissed. "I'll see you in Transfiguration in the morning."

Charlie sent an owl back the next morning, using her best ink and her griffin-feather quill pen, trying not to let her nervousness translate into shaking handwriting.

"Jo,

I'll be through with my finals by next week, if you'd like to come up and pick me up from the Platform. I'm gonna bring Cas along; he doesn't have anywhere else to be. If that's okay, I mean. Maybe we can find him someone cute.

Can't wait,  
Charlie"

          The next week passed in a blur of impatience and angst at once, Charlie pacing and unpacking and packing over and over again and again, Cas making a valiant effort to soothe her almost nightly with chai tea and phone calls.

 

"Don't be stressed, Charlie," Cas said as they rode the train to King's Cross. "It'll be a good time. There's nothing to worry about." Charlie sighed.

  
"I guess not," she agreed, dismissive, waving a hand. When the train pulled into the station and the students piled out for their winter holiday (three months, or thereabouts), Charlie got antsy yet again.

  
"What if I don't get along with her parents?" she worried, carrying her bags out, her owl Leia perched on her shoulder. "What if something happens on the trip down? What if I get sick off her Thanksgiving lunch?" Cas took a deep breath and itemised the reasons why it would all be alright.

  
"You and her parents will be great friends, nothing will happen on the trip down, and if you get sick you can attribute it to an allergy. It won't be a problem, Charlie." Charlie nodded unsurely.

  
"I guess so," she agreed, cutting through the crowds to find Jo and company in the mill of people.

          Before too much longer, they managed to find her, milling in the crowd with her broom in it's case and her bags and her Quidditch jersey still on from her most recent scrimmage with Beauxbatons.

 

"Charlie!" she beamed, breaking away from the scruffy-bearded man standing next to her. "Hi!"

  
"Hey!" Charlie smiled, wrapping her up in a hug. "How've you been?" Jo, still grinning, just nodded.

  
"Can't complain," she said. "Hey, Cas!" They exchanged hugs and smiles and Charlie made polite conversation with Bearded Wonder, a gruff man in a trucker's cap who introduced himself as Bobby, Jo's stepfather. Jo had never made the slightest complaint about her stepfather, although her biological one got a fair bit of flack (deservedly, too) for skipping out as soon as he learned she was a witch. Charlie's own parents were both dead, as were Cas', so they had little place else to be on Thanksgiving. It was hard, especially for Charlie, what with everyone going home and seeing their families and her and Cas being alone. They usually just stuck around Hogwarts with the rest of the permanent boarders, but this year would be special. For more than one reason, she hoped as she trailed after Jo and Bobby through the station. 

          "So, how was the Academy for Broom Whatever?" Charlie asked, smiling as they piled into Jo's car. Jo laughed. 

  
"Riding, Char," she said. "It was great. Everyone's real...interesting, there. We had a couple scrimmages against other teams, Durmmstrang's and Beauxbatons. Killed 'em every time." Charlie smiled. 

  
"Attagirl," she said. "Make any friends?" It was half a joke-Jo wasn't exactly a social butterfly, and those she talked to were more often than not put off by her sometimes brutal honesty. Those that know her well love her despite it, but most don't take the time. 

  
"Oh, loads," Jo answers with a heaping helpful of sarcasm. The car gets going and they drive to the airport, then fly back to Lebanon, Kansas, where Jo's home is. Charlie usually opts for quicker travel-she mastered an Apparition spell a few weeks ago and uses it when she can-but magical transportation tends to make Jo sick to her stomach. It's second nature to Cas (who spends most of the flight buried in either a book or conversation with Bobby) but his personality is such that he'll adapt to his companions. Charlie, of course, would do anything to make Jo comfortable-she can only hope it's the same in reverse.

          When the plane lands, the group hot-foots it to baggage claim so nobody else picks up their stuff and finds their wands or Jo's broom (a Valkyrie '67, quick and rather beautiful, even to Cas, who knows little about old models). In one particularly hectic crowd Jo catches hold of Charlie's wrist, and doesn't let go for another ten minutes. Charlie is not complaining. 

          Jo's mother fetches them from airport after all three of the children have scarfed down a soft pretzel and Bobby's had a coffee (or two or three; "he's old," Jo says, careful to make sure he hears, "he needs the caffeine." That earns her a lot of grumbling from Bobby and a teasing denial of cinnamon sugar and icing for her pretzel). Their car is ancient, all five of them crammed in the back, not to mention half the luggage at their feet.

  
"What's in the trunk, mom?" Jo asked, slamming her door closed. She's pressed close to Charlie's side. Charlie, again, doesn't say a word, although it's hard for her skin not to pink and her blood not to warm a bit.

  
"Winchester left his tools and Sammy's got a load'a library books," Ellen explains in an accent Charlie can't place. something Southern and maternal, Bobby's more gruff, but in the same vein. It's nice to hear something not European after so long at Hogwarts.

          "So you must be Charlie and Cas," she asked, angling the rearview to survey the trio. They still wear their house scarves, Cas' blue and white standing stark against his black rumpled suit and Charlie's red and yellow coordinating with the small-scale plaid on her flannel. Jo put a denim jacket over her Quidditch jersey so as not to arouse suspicion among the muggles, although what with Hogwarts' dirty laundry being aired after the most recent Potter biography most will just assume she's a fangirl.

  
"Yes," Cas answered, smiling in his little patient and warm way. "I'm Castiel, but you can call me Cas if you'd like." Polite, Charlie thinks, and hopes she can successfully mimic him, and the way he wins over adults with such ease. He has a slightly harder time with those his own age, though children follow him like he's the Pied Piper.

  
"Good to meet you, Cas," Ellen says. "Now, I understand you're in Ravenclaw, Cas? And you're in Gryffindor, Charlie?" Charlie nodded.

  
"Yes, ma'am," she agreed. "Jo's dorm 's right next to mine. 'N Cas lives across campus." Ellen nodded.

  
"Sounds like quite a setup you guys got." Charlie smiles.

  
"Yeah, it's nice," she agreed. Jo heaved a sigh.

  
"Mom, come on," she pled. "Interrogate them over Thanksgiving. Everybody needs a rest." Ellen sighed and turned the music up a little on the radio.

  
"Yeah, alright," she agreed, reluctant.

          The moment Ellen stopped talking, Jo was out like a light, head against the window sunlight filtering through blonde hair as she dozed. Cas was awake, reading, and Charlie lingered somewhere in between, staring dazedly at Jo, her eyes closed and her lips parted a little in sleep. She was stunning, really, so beautiful it made Charlie stop and stare with her mouth open like she'd been stupefied.

  
"Charlie," Cas interrupted. "Stop staring, it's strange." From the front, Ellen laughed softly.

  
"Better you 'n some pervy guy," she said. "You seem decent, don't think you'd be up to anything with my girl." Charlie smiled.

  
"Thanks," she agreed, blushing.

          The drive from the airport to Harvelle's bar wasn't long, but Jo seemed to get pretty solid sleep, and after a little Charlie dozed off against Jo's shoulder, Cas buried in his book. When Ellen parked in front of a two story building with a sign on the roof reading, "The Roadhouse," Cas furrowed his brows, momentarily confused.

  
"This is your home?" he asked, leaning forward a bit.

  
"Sure is," Ellen agreed. "Wake up the troops 'n let's get inside, there's a nasty snowstorm comin' and I want us to get sorted b'fore it's here." Cas nodded, giving Charlie a little nudge in the arm. She woke with a start and a little irritated noise, nestling her face further into Jo like that would make Cas disappear entirely. Jo was still out cold, undisturbed, even smiling a little in her sleep.

  
"Maybe we'll need an airhorn for these two, huh?" Ellen laughed, giving Jo a little pinch on the arm. Jo huffed and shifted, but didn't awaken.

  
"Yes...perhaps," Cas agreed with a little chuckle of his own. After an ardent few minutes of coaxing, Charlie and Jo were roused just enough to slog inside, though the cold against their skin made them wake up slightly as they did. Once they'd made it inside, huddled 'for warmth,' (though Charlie, for her part, was enjoying it for reasons more than Jo's body heat), they dropped their things at the door and looked around.

          "Grand tour?" Jo offered, opening her arms.

  
"Yes, please," Cas agreed, looking towards Charlie and raising his eyebrows a little, a gesture of look how well this is going so far. Charlie shrugged and nodded, quite pleased with how things had gone so far (especially getting to cuddle up to Jo in her sleep.)

  
"Alright," Jo began, shucking off her jacket and her Quidditch shoes. "So, first off, this is the bar. It's how we make most of our money-this place and Bobby's salvage yard. We serve all kindsa people, even sometimes Hogwarts grads. Upstairs are rooms where we live, but sometimes we rent out space to people who need it. You wanna come back to the back, I'll show you around there?" Charlie nodded.

  
"Yeah, defin-" she agreed, but was cut off by a clatter of pans and a string of curses. Jo sighed like an exasperated mother, walking purposefully through the swinging kitchen door with Cas and Charlie trailing behind.

          "Winchester!" she shouted, standing just inside the doorway between two racks covered with pots and pans. "What the hell are you doing?"

  
"It's all good, Josie," a rough, slightly twangy (Midwestern? Charlie considered) accent emanating from behind a rack. "Just took a little tumble, is all." Charlie, Jo, and Cas popped their heads around a corner to see a boy, Cas' age, maybe a year older, surrounded by pots and pans and sitting in front of an empty shelf.

          "Hi," he said, standing with a little wave. "Sorry, I didn't know we were having company-" he looked pointedly at Jo, "-or I woulda cleaned up a little." Cas and Charlie stepped around the corner, and it was impossible not to notice his eyes raking over Cas' body. "'Specially not cute company," he smirked, and Cas reddened. "I'm Dean. You must be Charlie," he said, extending a large, calloused hand to her, which she shook. "And you are?" He turned his attention to Cas, who was still blushing.

  
"I'm...my name is...Castiel. Novak. Castiel Novak." Dean smiled, warm and companionable.

  
"Good to meet you, Castiel Novak." Jo groaned.

  
"Can we not hit on the guests, please? At least not just yet?" she requested. "God..." Dean rolled his eyes.

  
"She's jealous," he told Cas confidentially, and he blushed a little. "How about I help you with your stuff, huh?" Cas nodded.

  
"Yes, please," he agreed, blushing a little and walking out with Dean, who winked as he passed Jo, in tow.

          "That didn't take long," Jo laughed, Charlie smiling as Dean and Cas passed by, Dean with Cas' bag over his arm and Cas following him closely, through a back door and up a flight of stairs.

  
"Love must be in the air," Charlie agreed, daring to hope she'd agree.

 

"Must," Jo smiled, then heaved a sigh. "You oughta come upstairs, get settled before dinner." Charlie nodded.

  
"I'll get my stuff," she said over her shoulder, walking out while Jo put the kitchenware Dean had apparently wiped out back in it's rightful places on the shelf. Charlie scooped up the bags, levitating the luggage just enough that she didn't have to carry all of it.

  
"I'll meet you up there," Jo assured. "Just find Dean...he'll probably be trying to cop a feel off Cas, if I know him." Charlie chuckled and nodded.

  
"You got it." She hauled the bags upstairs, the narrow carpeted hall opening onto two more that diverged to the left and right. Charlie followed her ears to the sound of Cas and Dean giggling, making sure to knock loudly before opening the doors.

  
"Come on in," Dean called, Charlie opening the door to find Dean and Cas sitting on the bed joined at the hip, Dean's right foot hooked around a very blushy Cas' ankle. Charlie set down their bags, taking in the room. It was arranged a bit like a hostel, with four or five beds, plain but comfortable-looking.

  
"This is us," Dean said, gesturing at the room. "Jo and I have our own rooms down the hall, but we figured we'd rather be in here with you guys." Cas reddened even further and ducked his head, Dean smirking a little.

  
"As long as you don't keep everybody up," Charlie said plainly, unpacking her things into the little shelf beside the bed she'd selected.

  
"We'll provide earplugs," Cas said, and Dean raised his eyebrows.

  
"I like the way you think, baby," he said, smirking a little.

  
"I try," Cas smiled back, warming up to Dean's side.

          After a few minutes of conversation (Dean hit ardently on Cas, Cas blushing but making advances right back), Jo arrived, claiming the bed next to Charlie, much to her excitement, Dean and Cas side by side, perhaps, as Cas had pointed out, sharing later. Once the four of them were sorted, they lounged on the beds and chatted until each one of them was asleep, first Jo, then Cas across Dean's chest, then Dean with a satisfied smile, and finally Charlie, Jo's sleeping form the last thing she saw before she was out cold for the night.

They slept clear through dinner, all through the night and into the next morning.

  
"Clocked in twelve hours last night," Jo said when she woke up, rounding up her pyjamas and heading for the bathroom.

  
"Impressive," Dean laughed, voice soft since Cas was still dozing, draped over him like a blanket.

  
"I'm going for a record," Jo teased, "twenty four straight hours." Charlie whistled.

  
"Takes ambition," she said, Jo chuckling as she walked out. As soon as she was gone, Charlie practically leapt across the beds to Dean's side.

"Hey, hey, where's the fire?" Dean asked when she plopped down beside him, seeming antsy.

  
"I need your help," Charlie hissed. "With Jo." Dean nodded knowingly.

  
"Ah, yes," he agreed. "What about her?" Charlie huffed. 

 

"I need to...you to help me to..." she began, and Dean nodded, knowingly. 

 

"I get it," he agreed. "You wanna ride the Joanna Train. And you want me to help get you a ticket." Charlie nodded dumbly.

  
"How'd you...?" Dean rolled his eyes with a little dismissive scoff.

  
"Dude, everyone in the tristate area wants to hit that. Anyways, the way you're staring at her...ain't exactly subtle." Charlie reddened.

  
"That bad?" Dean chuckled.

  
"Worse," he agreed. "Look. The secret to getting JoJo into bed is not chicken shitting around. She hates that. You want her, you waltz right up and tell her. Better know your fate than get slammed into purgatory until you get the balls to talk to her, huh?" Charlie shrugged.

  
"I guess," she agreed. "But...does she...bat for my team?" Dean nodded.

  
"Jo bats for everyone's team. She's a switch hitter." Charlie looked clearly relieved at that, but the prospect of admitting her affections for Jo still made her quite nervous.

  
"Any way I could...get around that? The confession?" Dean considered this and shook his head.

  
"Don't think so, Charlie," he said. "Just take the plunge." Charlie sighed.

  
"If you insist," she consented. "Thanks, Dean."

  
"Not to worry," Dean agreed. "We queer kids gotta stick together," he smirked. Cas, still laying across his chest, snuffled and yawned, Dean and Charlie smiling fondly down at him.

  
"Charlie," Cas slurred sleepily, "give's's'me priv'cy." Charlie rolled her eyes and stood.

  
"You got it, lovebirds," she agreed, walking out to swing by downstairs for a little breakfast.

          Jo, of course, was always sitting around downstairs, drinking coffee and bickering with Ellen as Charlie could hear from the stairwell.

  
"Mom, the only reason anyone puts up with turkey is because of the stuffing. You can't just ditch that; it's the best part," Jo implored, seeming quite invested in the contents of her Thanksgiving main course.

  
"Jo," Ellen said, sounding all long suffering and weary, "either you can get your stuffing or Dean can get his pie, and I'm pretty damn sure he's not gonna give that up easy."

  
"But we're gonna have squash, right? And potatoes and salad, right?" another voice, one Charlie didn't recognize.

  
"Yeah, yeah, Sam," Jo dismissed, "you'll get your rabbit food." Sam? Charlie wondered, and then realized she must've been referring to Dean's brother. He'd talked about him nonstop the night before, rambling on about how smart he was, how capable, how he was accepted early decision to Stanford, on and on and on.

  
"Well, when you and Dean have clogged arteries," Sam teased, "don't come crying to me." Charlie came walking down the stairs, hair tied back, wearing an old a Star Wars t shirt.

  
"Morning," she greeted. "Happy pre-Thanksgiving."

  
"Happy pre-Thanksgiving," Jo and Ellen parroted.

  
"There's just a little breakfast this morning since we're tryin' not to gorge too much yet, but if you're hungry I can whip ya up som'm," Ellen said, pushing the dish of fruit and bacon Charlie's way. "Just don't want you girls to be too full..."

  
"Not much risk of that," Charlie laughed, munching on a strip of bacon. Jo chuckled, smiling at Charlie, crinkles appearing at the corners of her eyes. She was so warm, so easy to get on with, easy to cuddle up to at night, Charlie thought. If only.

          "This is Sam," Ellen said, snapping Charlie out of her revelry. "He's Dean's little brother. A couple years younger than you guys."

  
"Trust me, mom, we heard all about him last night," Jo said dismissively, Sam reddening while the others laughed.

  
"Jo, Charlie, how about you two get outta here for an hour or so? I got some stuff I need you to pick up for dinner t'morrow, if ya don't mind..." Jo sighed and stood up.

  
"Alright, alright, mom. Just write us up a list and we'll head out." Charlie had to stifle her squeal of joy. Without another word, Ellen handed a little sticky note over the counter to Jo. "You were so sure we'd go, huh?" Jo teased, and Ellen smirked.

  
"You'll go if you want some stuffing," she said. "There's a fifty by the back door. Stick to the list and be back by noon."

  
"You got it," Charlie confirmed, walking out after Jo.

  
"Drive safe, Joanna Beth!" Ellen yelled after her. "One more ticket and I'm snatchin' that license of yours right up!"

  
"Yes, ma'am," Jo called back, opening the door for a very eager Charlie.

          "One more ticket, huh?" Charlie asked while they piled into Jo's shiny old Camaro. Jo rolled her eyes and started it up, the car purring to life.

  
"Cops just love me," she smirked, expertly backing out of the lot and purring off down the road. Jo was an excellent driver-she handled her car like she handled her broom, with finesse and expertise-and Charlie was always a sucker for a girl who was good with her hands.

  
"Yeah, sure," she agreed, then took a chance. "Have you ever flirted your way out of a ticket?" she ventured, Jo scoffing.

  
"More times than I can count," Jo smiled. "My feminine wiles come in handy, I guess." Charlie blushed and practically melted in her chair, having the distinct notion that this was going to be a long ride.

          She managed it without baring her soul too soon, wanting to pick a decent moment to do it that didn't involve Jo shouting at other drivers who couldn't hear her or the two of them singing along with Christmas music, laughing loud and raucous. When they pulled up in front of a little grocery store-something called a Piggly-Wiggly, a little place equal parts homespun and commercial, Jo grabbed the cash and the list out of the cup holder and flung open her door, Charlie following in short order. 

  
"What's on our list?" she asked, reading over Jo's shoulder as they walked inside. Jo paused and glanced over the list before reciting the items to Charlie.

  
"Pumpkin purée, carrots, frozen peas, and baking soda," Jo said, tucking the post it in her pocket. "Thank god this place is open today," she laughed, grabbing a cart, Charlie latching onto the side of the cart. "I mean, Ellen left the shopping to Dean and Ash-Ash works at the bar, but he'll be there for Thanksgiving-but knowing them they probably got distracted by some car or some girl or something." Charlie laughed.

  
"I like Dean, though," she said. "He's sweet." Jo nodded.

  
"Yeah," she agreed. "I mean, he's got his share'a flaws, but he's a good guy. He'd go to the grave for Sammy, too." Charlie nodded, walking with Jo through the sliding doors and into the warmth of the store.

          "So, listen, I was gonna talk to you a little..." she began, walking through the aisles with her. "If you don't mind..."

  
"Nah," Jo dismissed, "shoot." Charlie was a little relieved-maybe they could be casual, she prayed, and she could just come out and say it nice and easy.  
"Well, for a while, I've been thinking..."

  
"Ooh, hang on. Carrots," Jo cut in. Charlie sighed.

  
"Right," she agreed, looking over Jo's shoulder. The blonde girl picked up a bag of limp, old looking carrots and snickered.

  
"Hey, Charlie, look," she laughed, holding them up and nudging the soft end. Charlie, unfailingly, chuckled.

  
"They've got FD," she teased, "Freshness Dysfunction." Jo grinned.

  
"Oh, my god, we're such dorks," she laughed, beaming and throwing some more crisp carrots into the cart.

  
"Speak for yourself," Charlie teased, smirking. This was the exact reason she felt the way she did about Jo, the easy joking and the gentle teasing. Now all she had to do was tell her.

           "Um, listen," she began as they walked through the frozen section, Jo glancing back at Charlie every few minutes, "I was wondering, earlier...I know we've been friends for a long time, and I've always thought we were...I don't know. Closer than that. And I've always wanted to be..more. You know? More than friends."

Jo slowed the cart to a lazy halt and Charlie panicked. Had she misspoke, angered Jo in some way, maybe? "I mean, I'm just saying, I'm interested in..." With that, Charlie was shoved up against the freezer door, Jo's mouth on hers, one of Jo's hands on Charlie's hip and the other boxing her in with her hand beside her head. There was heat running through every inch of her skin, but the cold of the freezer door chilled through her flannel and the seat of her dark denim jeans, so that it was almost as though frigid cold and burning heat met in the pit of her stomach and caused the most beautiful and horrible of tightnesses.

  
"Charlie" Jo breathed when she pulled away, too soon for Charlie's liking. "How long have you had this crush on me?" Charlie sighed.

  
"Too long," she answered, blushing and looking down. "I was just nervous, I didn't know how to tell you..." Jo nodded.

  
"It's alright," she assured, kissing her chastely and then stepping back. "Come on, let's finish up here and head home." Charlie smiled, relieved-how easy was that?-and nodded, offering Jo her hand. She smiled and slipped it inside hers and they walked through the frozen aisle, the comfortable silence broken by Jo saying teasingly, "Good timing, by the way. I've always found frozen pizzas so romantic."

          Once they're in the car, after they've made it through the check out after some serious side-eye from the cashier, Jo and Charlie make their own warmth while the car's heaters come to life. They kiss languid and slow, leaning over the armrest in between them, hands on each other's jaws and cheeks until one of them (it's hard to tell between mouths) mumbles that the frozen peas will defrost and Ellen won't take their BS about being 'stuck in traffic' for a second, so they each return to their respective seats and Charlie leans on Jo and they listen to sugary sweet pop and smile all lazy and warm. They park around back of the Roadhouse and Charlie grabs the groceries so Jo can get the door, the two of them close together, not needing the pretence of sharing body heat any more.

          Inside they find Dean and Cas in the kitchen, painting each other's noses with dots of whipped cream and being fluffy little saps.

  
"Hey, guys," Dean smiled, before leaning over to suck whipped cream off Cas' finger with an obscene 'pop'. "How was the store?" Charlie grinned.

  
"Great," she said, putting the peas in the big industrial fridge and the carrots in the crisper drawer.  
"Yeah," Jo confirmed, "Perfect." Dean rolled his eyes.

  
"Subtle, you two," he said, veering away from Cas as he tries to paint a moustache over his upper lip, an extreme look of laser like concentration on the dark haired boy's face. "Congrats, though. Me and Cas had bets placed on how long it would take." Cas smirked broadly.

  
"I believe that means I get preferential spooning treatment?" he asked Dean, although by the way Dean huffed it was clear he knew the answer full well.

  
"Better to have been the little spoon than never to have spooned at all, love," Cas laughed, teasing gently.

  
"Yeah, yeah," Dean dismissed, smiling fondly. Charlie couldn't help but notice how Dean lit up Cas' face, how he grinned and teased and laughed and joked in a way Charlie rarely saw. And now that she had Jo, well, she could only imagine what was in store for her.

          That next day around noon finds the two couples, as well as Bobby, Sam, Ellen, and Ash (who, it turns out, has some interesting conspiracy theories he's quick to share with a listening ear) around a bunch of pushed-together tables in the middle of the Roadhouse. The neon 'We're Open' sign is turned off, as is the 'Vacancy' light. Charlie and Jo run plates to the table like it's a relay race, Dean calling winners while Cas cheers for them both and straightens the paper table settings, Sam watching their antics and laughing. Once Ellen and Bobby emerge from the kitchen all four teenagers take their spots at the table, Ash following with a great big tub of ice. They get settled and Bobby says grace-"family, friends, food, 'n faith, amen"-and then Ellen says, "What's everybody thankful for today?"

  
"I'll bet Ash is thankful for the mullet gods," Jo teased. "And I'll bet Dean is thankful for his big spoon..."

  
"Jo," Cas chided, blushing gently. "Only I get to embarrass Dean like that."

  
"Well, I know what Jo and Charlie're thankful for," Dean smirked right back. "Hot witches, huh?" Charlie raised her eyebrows.

  
"Damn right, I am," she agreed jokingly. "One hot witch in particular." Jo smiled.

  
"Aw, baby," she said, leaning over to kiss her cheek. Cas gave a fond laugh, looking on.

  
"Well, to all of us," he smiled, raising his tea glass. "Witch and wizard and muggle alike."

  
"To all of us," everyone parroted, Charlie and Jo lacing fingers under the table like they'd been doing it their whole lives.


End file.
